Trojans hammer the Pride

Saturday

Nov 24, 2007 at 1:27 AM

STOCKTON - Dewitt Stuckey remembers being eliminated from the playoffs in 2005.

Mark Godi

STOCKTON - Dewitt Stuckey remembers being eliminated from the playoffs in 2005.

The Lincoln High linebacker was a starter as a sophomore when Pitman beat the Trojans in the first round of the postseason. On Friday, Stuckey prevented the Pride's attempt at a repeat with a 37-21 victory in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I quarterfinals at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

"That is a game I kept in the back of my mind all week," Stuckey said of the teams' previous meeting, a 35-14 win by Pitman. "As a sophomore, that was devastating, but I thought we did a good job tonight."

Stuckey led Lincoln's defense early with three tackles for a loss, including two on key third-down stops.

The Trojans were held to a 27-yard field goal on their opening drive and took a 3-0 into the second quarter. Lincoln (8-3) scored its first touchdown with 8 minutes, 2 seconds left before the half, after Stuckey's sack forced Pitman (8-3) to punt from its own 13-yard line.

Lincoln took over at the Pride 35, and Stuckey scored in four plays with a 20-yard run off left tackle. Stuckey had 50 yards on 11 carries and was one of five Lincoln backs to rush for more than 40 yards.

"It was wonderful to have so many backs to hit them with," Stuckey said.

"It made it hard for their defense to know who to stop."

On Pitmans' next drive, Stuckey forced another punt by stuffing a delayed handoff for a 1-yard loss.

Lincoln built its lead to 24-0 at the break with running touchdowns from Anthony Dials and David Hayselden. Hayselden was second in rushing for the Trojans with three carries for 49 yards and two touchdowns.

Ahead 31-0 in the third quarter, the Pride scored three unanswered scores on long passes down the sideline. Matt Staack caught an 80-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter and followed up with a 77-yard catch.

"We made a couple mistakes in the second half and maybe put the subs in a little early," Lincoln Jim Rubiales said. "Overall, I thought we did a good job on defense though."

The Pride was riding a six-game winning streak, averaging 37.3 points per game led by a powerful Wing-T offense. However, Lincoln held Pitman to just 127 yards on the ground.